Rangers top Flyers, 4-2, in Game 5

Rangers' Ryan McDonagh (27) tries to control the puck while falling over Philadelphia Flyers' Jakub Voracek during the first period in Game 5 on Sunday.

NEW YORK – The Rangers won Game 5 and know they haven’t won anything yet.

Their best defensive effort of this Eastern Conference first-round series paced a 4-2 win over the Flyers on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, sending the Rangers to Philadelphia for Tuesday night’s Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center with a chance to advance to face either the Penguins or Blue Jackets.

“We have to be more desperate than them, they’re on the brink of elimination,” defenseman Dan Girardi said. “They’re going to throw everything they have at us, especially in their home building where it’s loud and they have a lot of energy. We just have to make sure we match it, match their intensity.”

Game 7, if necessary, will be Wednesday night back at the Garden.

“It’s the hardest thing to do, to end a team’s season,” said left wing Brian Boyle, whose empty-net goal with 15 seconds left finally clinched the game after Claude Giroux had cut the Rangers’ lead to 3-2 at 18:31 of the third period with goalie Steve Mason off for an extra skater.

Despite the nail-biter finish, another effort like their Game 5 performance would go a long way in helping the Rangers win a series in fewer than seven games for the first time since their five-game victory over the Devils in the first round of the 2008 playoffs.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 24 shots and fourth-line center Dominic Moore scored the winner at 16:20 of the second period, swiping the puck from defenseman Hal Gill for a 3-0 lead, and set up Boyle’s goal. Meanwhile, J.T. Miller, inserted onto Brad Richards’ line with Carl Hagelin for agitator Dan Carcillo, had an assist in his first career postseason game, setting up a wide-open Richards in the left faceoff circle for a 2-0 lead at 8:07 of the second period.

The Rangers also shrugged off a potential power-play goal by Marty St. Louis that was waved off by a quick whistle by referee Justin St. Pierre at 2:14 of the second period – John Moore’s slap shot got behind Mason and was loose in the crease – to score twice in the second period.

“As you go through a series, you have to keep elevating your game because the other side will,” said St. Louis, whose drop pass and partial screen of Mason led to Marc Staal’s wrist shot trickling through for a 1-0 lead at 11:53 of the first period. “I thought we did that today and we got rewarded for that.”

The Rangers, taking control in the second period, were set up by their first-period penalty killing. The Flyers did not get a shot after Hagelin slashed Giroux at 3:17 of the first period and went scoreless on three shots after Hagelin crosschecked Giroux at 7:28 of the first period.

“I felt like the penalty kill was really good,” said Lundqvist, who was beaten by Vincent Lecavalier for a power-play goal on a shot that deflected off defenseman Kevin Klein as the Flyers cut the lead to 3-1 with 32.6 seconds remaining in the second period. “The biggest part for me was to calm down and not to be too upset about [Lecavalier’s goal]. It is really frustrating to sit in here when you give up a goal like that late in the period.”

The Rangers will enter Game 6 having won 13 of 15 best-of-seven series they’ve led 3-2.

Overall, the Rangers are 10-5 in franchise history in Game 6s when they’ve led 3-2, including a 4-4 road record.

“This series is definitely not over,” said Mason, who made 18 saves. “We are looking forward to getting back home and having a big game there and bringing it back here for Game 7.”